My Book O' The Week

It was an interesting week, comics-wise. Everything I picked up was good (Except Deadpool #1, which was barely average)...but nothing jumped out as exceptional.

Which is why my Book O' The Week is more accurately my Trades O' The Week....

BATMAN AND SON/BATMAN:THE BLACK GLOVE by Grant Morrison

I've really been digging Grant Morrison's run on Batman. Before he took over the writing chores, it had been many years since I had picked up and individual issue. I kept up with the character mainly through his guest appearances, Justice League and the repository of all knowledge that is the Interwebs. But when I heard that the Mad Scotsman was going to be the new writer, I thought I'd give it a shot.

If you've been following his latest arc "Batman: R.I.P.", you know that Grant is sending Batman down a twisted path that throws in a mysterious villain known as The Black Glove, The Joker, revelations about Bruce Wayne's father, Bat-Mite, adventures from the Silver Age and the kitchen sink as well. What I didn't realize (and should have) was that Morrison was laying the groundwork for R.I.P. at the very beginning of his run.

"Batman and Son" introduces us to Damian (oh Grant...you're many things, but subtle isn't one of them), the result of a wild night in the desert with longtime adversary Talia who is the daughter of Ra's Al Guhl. Damian, being raised by the League of Assassins, is the very definition of a "problem child" and his introduction to the Bat Family doesn't go smoothly.

Aside from the great storytelling, foreshadowing of future events and a ten-year old kid beating up Alfred, "Batman and Son" also throws in flying Man-Bat Ninjas. That's right....flying Man-Bat Ninjas. It doesn't get much cooler than that. Highly, highly recommended.

Which leads into "The Black Glove". Once again, Morrison brings a Silver Age concept into the modern era. Batman once belonged to "The Club of Super Heroes", whose membership featured the Batmen of Many Nations. They've all been assembled on a remote island and are being killed off one by one. But what seems like a simple locked room mystery introduces the main villain for "R.I.P.", the Black Glove and lays more foundation for what's to come.

One of the (many) charges leveled at Grant Morrison is that the individual issues of his stories sometimes don't make much sense...he waits until the end to pull all the threads together. This is true. But as readers, I think we've been gotten lazy in the age of Interweb spoilers. We have to know everything up front, even how the story is going to end. Half the fun of reading fiction is the journey we take finding out not just what happens, but how it happens. With his run on "Batman", Morrison is not only giving us great individual stories, but creating an epic tale of the Dark Knight and his journey to madness and back (maybe...the story's not finished). I don't know where Grant is headed, but I sure am enjoying the ride!

More Conventional Wisdom & Books of the Week

• Four years from now, I'm going to find a way to have the goofy hat concession at the party conventions. I bet I could make a bunch of Newspaper hats, sell them to delegates and retire on the profits.

• If you are a candidate, I don't care what song they play...for the love of God & in the name of all that is Holy...DON'T DANCE. There is nothing more awkward than watching 50-something career politicians trying to bust a move.

• I loved the fact that during the Hillary Clinton video package, they chose to use the super "Hillary's Husband" when Bill was talking.

• Will I be watching the Republican Convention next week? No. I know who I'm going to vote for already. Besides, if it runs true to form, I don't need to hear multiple speeches about how we're all in in danger of imminent nuclear destruction if Obama is elected. Given the choice between the "We Are Family-I'd Like To Buy The World A Coke" sometimes goofy optimism of the Democrats & the "Eve Of Destruction-Meet The New Boss (Same As The Old Boss)" fear mongering of the Republicans, I'll take optimism for $1,000 Alex.

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We have two winners for Funnybook of the Week. Both were excellent in their own ways, so I just couldn't pick one.

First up is Final Crisis: Rogue's Revenge #2 by Geoff Johns & Scott Kollins. The Rogues take their war against Libra to a new level and Captain Cold settles some family business. I'm getting a real "Wild Bunch" vibe off of this title. I can easily see the Rogues making one doomed last stand and going out in a blaze of glory by the end of this mini-series. Johns continues to explore just what makes the Flash's Rogues Gallery more than just another group of costumed criminals. With hints of betrayal from within and Zoom and Inertia on the horizon, it looks like this one will wrap up with a bang!

My second pick is DC Universe: Last Will And Testament by Brad Meltzer. This was originally solicited as a tie-in to "Final Crisis", but works fine as a stand alone story. Meltzer does take a look at what various heroes in the DC Universe do on the night before what might be their final battle. But he also takes the opportunity to tie up some plot threads that hearken back to his run on "Justice League of America" and even as far back as "Identity Crises". I never had a strong opinion about Geo-Force before...he came to prominence during my absence from comics. Truthfully, until this issue, he never seemed more fully rounded as a character. But Meltzter made me care about him...and that's the mark of a good writer.

Honorable mention goes to Nova #16 and Final Crisis: Superman Beyond #1. Nova for being a Secret Invasion tie-in that also more than holds its own as a stand alone issue and Superman Beyond for the ideas and psychotic genius that is Grant Morrison.